BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The FBM KLCI continues to lose ground ahead of the mid-week Chinese New Year (CNY) break, extending its losses for a fourth consecutive day and ending the session just slightly above the 1,550 level.
Sentiments were still affected by the rout in technology stocks in key global markets with the utilities sector the most affected on Bursa Malaysia.
Most other sector indices also fell with market breadth remained in the negative territory as traded volumes slipped further to just 2.2 billion shares.
Although key overseas indices mounted a recovery, near-term sentiments on Bursa Malaysia will remain insipid as lingering concerns over the AI ((artificial intelligence) industry and data centres could keep market players on the sidelines for longer.
At the same time, many market players are still on the CNY break that could also see limited market following for now.
Consequently, the key index could continue to drift over the near term and continue to post new multi-month lows with the immediate support at the 1,550-level likely to be tested.
If this level also fails to hold, the supports are then lowered to the 1,542 level, followed by the 1,536 level. On the flipside, the resistances are set at the 1,557-1,562 levels with the ensuing hurdle set at the 1,567 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI extended its losses as global sentiment weakened amid concerns over the rise of a low-cost AI model from the Chinese start-up DeepSeek.
Meanwhile, Wall Street closed higher following quarterly results from Tesla and Meta despite the US Federal Reserve having indicated a slower easing interest rate environment ahead.
Traders will closely watch upcoming data, including (i) the core PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures Price) Index; and (ii) the employment cost index later today.
In the commodities market, Brent Crude rebounded above US$76/barrel mark while gold prices charged towards an all-time high of above US$2,790/oz and CPO prices having stabilised above RM4,270/metric tonne.
The key index extended its losses. However, MACD histogram expanded positively while RSI is approaching oversold level, suggesting that momentum is mixed at the current juncture.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,567-1,572 while support is set at 1,532-1,537. – Jan 31, 2025
